Surveillance and the Limits of Law

Surveillance and the Limits of Law

Section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to sunset. New legislation would kill it entirely. But how much do intelligence agencies follow the law anyway?

By Alex Marthews | March 4, 2020 | Defense, Government, Human Rights, Law, Privacy, Security | Amazon, AT&T, Black Lives Matter, Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitutional Law, Dissent, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Gang of Eight, ICE, Intelligence Agencies, Internet, Jewel v. NSA, Law Enforcement, Legal Precedent, Mass Surveillance, Michael Hayden, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, NSA, Orwell, Palantir, Patriot Act, Privacy, Restore the Fourth, Revolution, Russell Tice, Section 215, Sensors, Spying, Standing Rock, Supreme Court, surveillance, Surveillance Oversight Ordinances, Violence

Carpenter v. US: A Rare Win for Privacy Rights

The Supreme Court finally taps the brakes on the unrestrained collection of digital data by law enforcement.

By Warren Christopher Freiberg | August 31, 2018 | Law, Policing, Privacy | Carpenter v. US, Cell Towers, Cell-Site Data, Crime, Data, FISA, Fourth Amendment, John Roberts, License Plate Readers, Neil Gorsuch, Police, PRISM, Privacy, Robbery, Smartphones, Supreme Court, surveillance, Tracking, Warrant

Help End Section 702 Surveillance

Section 702 of 2008’s FISA Amendment Act, the basis of an enormous surveillance program, is about to lapse. A new bill, the USA Rights Act, would fix it.

By Mo Lotman | October 25, 2017 | Defense, Ethics, Government, Human Rights, Law, Policing, Privacy | ACLU, America, Back-Door Searches, Bipartisanship, CIA, Democracy, EFF, FAA, FBI, FISA, FISA Amendments, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Intelligence Agencies, Liberty Through Strength Act, NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, Rand Paul, Restore the Fourth, Reverse Targeting, Ron Wyden, Rule of Law, Searches, Section 215, Section 702, surveillance, Ted Poe, Tom Cotton, US Constitution, USA Rights Act, Zoe Lofgren

Will Surveillance Finally Sunset?

Controversial surveillance authorizations are scheduled to sunset this year. Now is the time to press for the end of these Constitution-defying practices.

By Warren Christopher Freiberg | July 26, 2017 | Defense, Government, Human Rights, Law, Privacy, Security | ACLU, Arab American Institute, Bob Goodlatte, Dan Coats, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Freedom of the Press Foundation, George W. Bush, House Freedom Caucus, Human Rights Watch, Internet, John Conyers, Mark Meadows, Mass Surveillance, Maya Berry, PRISM, Privacy, Restore the Fourth, Section 702, surveillance, Tom Cotton

Podcast #4: Alex Marthews on Protecting Privacy

Alex Marthews is the executive director of Restore the Fourth, a national non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting enforcement of the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. He spoke with publisher Mo Lotman about the legal terrain surrounding mass surveillance, including a new effort to bring oversight of the application of surveillance technologies in local communities.

By Mo Lotman | August 10, 2016 | Human Rights, Law, Podcasts, Privacy, Security, Society | ACLU, Edward Snowden, EFF, FISA, Fourth Amendment, Restore the Fourth, Santa Clara, Stingray, surveillance, Warantless Wiretapping